My eyes slowly open to the sound of driving on smooth pavement. I push myself off the comfortable seating that supported my sleep. I’m still in the same car, and the man and woman are still in the front seats. I stay silent at first, not wanting to alert them that I’m now awake. Looking out the window, I see that we are on what seems to be an airport runway. The car soon comes to a stop in front of a huge airpne.

  The man in the b coat turns around and says, “Oh, you’re awake. Please comply.”

  I turn to face him. “It depends. Will you tell me what the heck is going on?” I ask. His face then turns calcuting.

  “If you don’t cause any problems for us, then we will fill you in on some details. Does that work for you, Christian?”

  I’m uneased at the use of my name, which I never gave them. “Works fine with me…”

  He nods his head. “Great. Then please step out and follow us.” "I’m going to comply for now, since running would likely get me caught quickly, and even if I had powers, my chances of fighting my way out are low." I think to myself. The woman and the man in the b coat step out of the car and unlock the back door. I push open the handle and step out onto the runway.

  “What are we here for?” I ask.

  “Already asking questions, huh? Well, I guess you haven’t caused us any problems so far, so I’ll say this—you’re going on a little vacation with some people like you.”

  “Like me?”

  My mind goes to the pull above my shoulder. It has become stronger, but the feeling of it being there has become natural, like putting on a hat. The woman and man soon lead me to the bottom of the stairs leading into the pne, and I see a small group of people there. From them, I hear a shout.

  “Please! I swear I didn’t mean to do all that! Please let me go home!”

  I take a look at the one causing the commotion, and then it hits me—is that the person from the livestream?

  We reach the group, and I get a better look at all of them—five SWAT members, two other people in research clothes, two people in suits like the woman who drove me here, and, most importantly, two other boys who look to be around my age.

  “Good work, Professor Ian. I knew you’d be the one to find one of these kids,” the research-looking person for the boy I didn’t know says to my research person.

  “Yes, I did, and I bet I had a much easier time than you did from what I saw in the reports. My person has shown no signs of abilities, but his readings indicate otherwise.”

  The research-looking person eyes me up and down. “Well, if you say that the readings were correct, I can’t argue. I just don’t want to waste the limited resources we have.”

  While the conversation is going on, I can’t help but have my eyes drawn to the other boys. The first one—the one I saw in the livestream—is on the shorter side with brown hair. His clothes are a little burnt around the edges, probably from what he did. Now, the other boy is more interesting. He’s taller than me, with bck hair and a colder expression. If I piece things together, I think he has toxic smoke powers from what I heard during the SWAT raid. They’re both looking at me the same way, but as far as everyone here knows, I don’t have powers.

  “I would love to keep chatting, but I think if we dey any further, we risk one of these boys attacking, and we could lose one—or more—depending on what happens.”

  Me and the other boys all look at the woman in the suit with slight annoyance, all thinking the same thing: We’re not dangerous.

  The research people all slightly jump, and mine says, “Oh, right. Apologies. All of you, onto the pne, please.”

  He gestures to the three of us. The tall bck-haired boy then says, “Why should we? We’re not sure what you’ll do to us when we get on there.”

  The fire boy nods in agreement, and I give a slight nod.

  My researcher shakes his head. “Please, just comply. Rest assured, your safety is secured.”

  At the wave of his hand, a SWAT member grabs and forces the bck-haired boy up the stairs, then turns to me and the fire boy and says coldly, “Please make your way up the stairs.”

  The fire boy shudders and begins making his way up. I let out a sigh and soon follow.

  As I enter the pne, the SWAT member who dragged the bck-haired boy in leaves. I turn back to see that nobody else is coming on the pne except me and the other boys. My mind runs through a few reasons why, but I don’t dwell on them for long as I enter.

  The inside is stunning—nice seats line the rows, there is a bar near the back, and the lighting is a soft, warm glow. The bck-haired boy is already seated, probably forcefully by the SWAT member. The fire boy walks up the aisle, trying to find a seat. I walk through the pne, passing him. He gives me a quick gnce before sitting far from both of us.

  I sit near the very back. Once I do, I notice the door at the front closing. Soon, over the intercom, a voice says:

  “Please ensure your seatbelts are fastened and remain fastened for takeoff. Turn off all personal electronic devices, including ptops and cell phones.”

  I put on my seatbelt and think about turning off my phone, but I remember—it’s still on my bed back at home.

  The pne starts rolling on the runway, soon lining up for takeoff. I can’t help but notice that the bck-haired boy looks nervous.

  “I guess he’s scared of pnes…” I say, not bothering about my volume, thinking I couldn’t be heard.

  “No, I am not!” the bck-haired boy shouts just as we start gaining speed.

  We are soon off the ground, climbing in altitude. A chunk of time passes before the intercom crackles again.

  “We are at cruising altitude. You are free to move around. Arrival time: 8 hours and 14 minutes.”

  The bck-haired boy immediately unbuckles and starts heading down the aisle toward me. He waves for the fire boy to come too. Sitting across from me, the fire boy soon joins him.

  I’m uncomfortable, unsure what they’re thinking right now.

  “What’s your name?” he asks, extending a hand. “Mine is Ivan.”

  The fire boy then says, “And mine is Simon.”

  I nod, my nerves easing. “I’m Christian. It’s good to meet you both, even in these circumstances.”

  They also seem more at ease after my introduction.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, what powers do you have?” Ivan asks.

  I think for a moment. The pull is even stronger than before on the ground.

  “I have this weird pull above my shoulder. I don’t know what it is. I can’t make fire or toxic smoke clouds like you two.”

  They tilt their heads at my answer, and Simon asks, “Maybe gravity powers?”

  My eyes light up at the thought.

  “That’s a good idea, but I don’t think I can try it right now. We’re on a pne—it might bring the whole thing down.”

  They both nod.

  “Good point,” Ivan says, leaning back in his chair. “So, where do you think they’re taking us?”

  Simon speaks up. “My best guess? Somewhere in Europe. The U.S. government has a lot of bases there, and it matches up with the arrival time the pilot mentioned.”

  Ivan and I nod in agreement.

  “What we should really be asking is why they’re doing this,” I add. “Sure, they have us—but why?”

  I then turn to Simon. “Hey, no offense, but… were you the one who caused all those fires in New York?”

  Simon's face turns grim. “Just for the record, I didn’t mean for it to happen. It happened right after the meteor crossed the sky. Fire started erupting from my hands. I freaked out, fell over the railing of my parents’ apartment, and was about to hit the ground, but a rush of fire stopped most of the impact. And then… the fire kept coming out, and I couldn’t stop…”

  Simon becomes quiet, not wanting to talk about it.

  Ivan suddenly blurts out, “Don’t even ask me what happened. I’m not talking about it!”

  Me and Simon are taken aback by the sudden outburst. The conversation goes quiet after that, with only occasional small talk as the flight continues.

  “We will be descending now. Please take your seats and have your seat belts fastened.”

  The three of us all jump up, our attention snapping back from whatever we were doing. I buckle up, and they do the same as we slowly begin descending.

  Coming through the clouds, I can see out the window—beautiful rolling green hills and a quite rge city below us. A few gasps can be heard from the three of us as we touchdown on a runway. But this doesn’t look like an airport—it looks more like a base.

  As we taxi over the runway, the first thing I notice is that there are a few other pnes already here. We soon come to a stop, and the pne door opens. We are left with no instruction.

  Ivan sits up and asks, “Do we just go out?”

  “I guess so,” Simon says, standing up and walking to the front.

  We soon follow behind him. Stepping out onto the runway, the first thing we notice is a group of other kids. I count thirteen of them.

  “Should we go over there?” I ask, turning to see what Simon and Ivan think.

  “Do you think they have powers too?” Simon asks, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

  “I don’t think they’d be here if they didn’t,” Ivan replies. “Let’s go find out.”

  He steps up and walks toward the group. I follow behind him, and Simon trails behind me. As we approach, the group notices us, and it seems like our arrival confirms something for them.

  One person from the group steps up—a tall, brawny male with an English accent.

  “You guys speak English, right?”

  A collective, “Yeah,” can be heard from the three of us.

  “Can any of you speak Russian? I think…” He turns and points to a single girl huddled in a corner of the pne hangar. “She’s been freaking out ever since her pne nded here,” the brawny man says.

  Me, Ivan, and Simon shake our heads. He lets out a disappointed sigh.

  “I wish someone could expin what is going on.”

  And as the brawny guy says this, we all hear a door slide open. A woman in a suit steps out, followed by two people. She walks forward and says, “I might have some answers.”

  The two people behind her immediately begin transting into multiple nguages. The sound grabs the attention of all the kids there—even the girl in the corner lifts her head, now focused.

  “There are more kids to come soon, but for now, please follow us,” the woman says.

  The transtors rey the message, and the three of them turn to head back through the door. It leaves us all looking at each other, wondering who will move first.

  A girl from the group walks toward the door, and soon, most of the group follows her lead.

  Now, it’s just me, Ivan, Simon, the brawny guy, and the girl in the corner.

  I’m about to follow the rest of the group, but I look over my shoulder and see the girl still sitting there, looking unsure of herself.

  “Do you think we should go get her?” I ask the others.

  “She can’t understand us, so I doubt she will,” the brawny man says.

  Ivan and Simon seem indifferent about what happens with her.

  “Go on without me. I’ll catch up, okay?” I say.

  They all nod and walk to the door while I make my way toward the girl. She looks up at me as I approach, unsure of what to do.

  I stop a few feet away, put on a smile, and wave for her to come on.

  She looks away for a moment, but then slowly pushes herself off the ground and starts walking toward the door. I follow closely behind her, and we finally enter.

  Inside, the rest of the kids are lined up in two rows. The room is freezing.

  “Damn, it’s freezing…” I mutter, rubbing my arms.

  The girl nods in agreement. Does she understand English? I wonder. Or is she just reacting to the cold?

  But I don’t have time to ask, because we are suddenly separated by two armed guards. She is taken aback by it but quickly moves into a line. I step into the other and quickly notice that we’re split by gender.

  “I guess that makes sense,” I say to myself.

  I look down the line toward what’s happening at the front. It seems to be some sort of check-in process—there’s what looks to be a receptionist at a desk, interviewing each kid.

  The lines get shorter and shorter, each kid walking through another set of doors beyond the receptionist.

  When it’s almost my turn, I try to overhear the questions, but I can’t quite pick up on anything. So, I decide to drop it and just wait.

  Simon, the one in front of me, soon walks through the doors. His expression is neutral as he heads through.

  I step forward, and the woman at the desk pulls out a couple of documents.

  “Let’s get started. Please state your name.”

  “Uh… Christian Gréine,” I respond.

  She looks over the documents, then asks, “It says here in the reports that you have explosion powers but also states that you cimed to have gravity powers. Could you please confirm your abilities for me?”

  I shift uneasily at the question.

  “I don’t have… powers. Not that I know of, at least.”

  Her eyes widen slightly at my answer, and she writes something down on the paper.

  “Are you being honest with me?” she asks.

  I nod.

  “Okay then, you can head through those doors. You will be staying here for a few weeks while we build a more suitable pce for all of you.”

  With that, I step forward.